Page 2 of Ace of Spades
CHAPTER ONE
Nate Gentry sat in his car, studying the small house on the other side of the street. Harmon Baker had left Ocala, disappearing the same time Nate’s mother had. Back then, it had only reinforced Nate’s belief they’d run away together. Now he questioned his young self’s conclusion, and the time had come to find out the truth.
He’d tracked Harmon to this run-down house in Dunnellon, a mere thirty-minute drive from Ocala, where Nate had grown up. When he’d run a search for Harmon Baker, he’d been surprised to learn the man had never married. Was his mother in there? Ever since his middle brother had shared the secret he’d kept since the day their mother had walked away from them, Nate didn’t know what to think anymore.
According to Court, their mother had been pregnant and had run away because their bastard of a father had tried to beat the baby out of her. The revelation had shaken Nate to his core. He opened the car door, getting out. Had he been wrong about her all these years? If he had been, shame on him. Guess he was about to find out.
He probably should have at least stayed for Court’s wedding reception, but after hearing his brother’s confession, as soon as the ceremonywas over, he’d left. Not cool, but too many bad memories had broken out of the mind boxes he’d locked them into when he’d been a boy. It was either leave as soon as he could or ruin the rest of Court’s wedding reception because of his rotten mood. He loved his brother too much to do that.
So he’d pulled his boss aside as soon as the ceremony was over, asked for and had been granted two days off. Now he was digging into the past, something he’d tried hard to never think about. Did he want to do this? Open old wounds?
Nate paused a few feet from the door. Alex and Court were determined to find their mother, Nate’s opinion on the matter be damned. Before he’d allow them to be hurt all over again, he’d get answers. He’d been their protector from the day each was born, and he didn’t know how to stop now. If their mother had left them for something other than another man, he wanted to know.
As he took a step toward the house, his phone rang with the tone Nate had set for his boss, special agent in charge of the Miami office of the FBI. As usual, Rothmire’s timing sucked. Bringing the phone to his ear, Nate headed back to his car. If the boss was calling at eight in the morning—after giving Nate two days off—it wasn’t to chat about what they each planned for breakfast.
“What’s up?” Nate asked.
“Another woman at the same dumping ground as the first two. The local police got an anonymous tip on where to find the body.”
Damn.Three meant they had a serial killer on their hands. When the second body had been found, the evidence pointing to the same killer, the bureau had been put on alert. With this third one, the FBI would be taking over the investigation.
Nate headed back to his car. “The first two were found in the Everglades, right?”
“Yep. Since they were prostitutes, it’s likely we’ll find out this one was, too, once she’s identified. I want you on the scene.”
Nate glanced at his watch. “I’m in Dunnellon.” Which Rothmire already knew, since his agents went nowhere without the boss being aware of their locations at all times. “It’ll take me four or five hours to get there.”
“No it won’t. There’s a helicopter on the way to the Dunnellon airport to pick you up. Rand’s riding along with the copter. He’ll drive your car back. One of the local cops will be waiting for you to take you to the scene.”
“Why am I going there?” He worked undercover.
“You’re the lead on this one. Taylor should get there about the time you do.” Rothmire hung up without waiting for an answer, which was typical.
Nate stared at his phone in confusion. This wasn’t an undercover operation. Taking the lead would make him visible. What was Rothmire up to? Until the boss was ready to clue him in, he would remain in the dark.
Shrugging, he slid behind the wheel of his car. Harmon Baker and his secrets would have to wait. As he pulled away, he glanced at the house that looked like a heavy wind could knock it over. A dingy curtain in the front window fluttered closed. Someone had been watching him. As tempted as he was to stop the car and knock on the door now that he was here, he didn’t have the time to spare. Whatever answers that house held would have to wait.
When Nate arrived at the scene, Taylor Collins, his fellow agent, was already there. At the sight of her, Nate’s heart did a little bounce. “Stop that,” he muttered, warning his stupid heart to quit wanting what it couldn’t have. She was special, not for the likes of him. Besides, she was his best friend, and he wasn’t about to screw that up by having an affair when he had nothing to offer her or any other woman.
As he walked toward her, his gaze roamed over her—as it always did, whether he wanted it to or not. Sleek blonde hair an inch longer than her ears, blue eyes that reminded him of his beloved ocean, and legs that went on forever. In the darkest hours of the night, when he was alone in his bed, he would imagine them wrapped around him.
She glanced over and, at seeing him, a smile curved her lips that seemed like they were made for kissing. He didn’t smile back, nor did she expect him to. But he craved hers, and when she did gift him with that smile—unlike any she gave others—it seemed as if the sun had suddenly appeared on a cloudy day. So far, he’d managed to hide his reaction to her, but that was getting harder to do.
“Morning, boss,” she said, saluting him. “I was surprised when Rothmire said you’re heading up this investigation. Are you putting your undercover days behind you?”
“Beats me,” he said, coming to a stop next to her. “You know Rothmire. I’ll learn the answer to that when he’s ready for me to.” He subtly inhaled her citrusy fragrance. Her tart, fresh smell had been a surprise the first time he’d been close enough to catch her scent. He’d expected something flowery. On meeting her for the first time, men—him included—often made the mistake of thinking she was a fragile female in need of their protection.
He inwardly snorted. She was so far from fragile that it was a rare man who could best her. She was an expert markswoman, held a Krav Maga black belt, could hit a bull’s-eye with a knife without trying, and had twice his brainpower. In other words, she was the hottest woman he’d ever met. And one he could never have. So even though she’d given off signals that she was interested, he’d pretended not to notice. That was getting harder to do, too.
She bumped his shoulder with hers. “Did you complete your mission?”
“No. Rothmire called right as I was walking up to the door.” Although their boss knew where Nate had gone, Taylor was the onlyone who knew why. As for his brothers, he hadn’t shared his plans and wouldn’t until he got answers. He wouldn’t get their hopes up that their mother was still alive or would want to see them.
“Bummer,” she said. “Well, let’s catch this bastard so you can finish what you started.”
She was right. Now that their perp had moved into serial-killer status, their time would be devoted to the case 24/7 until they caught him or her.
“Let’s go piss off some cops, then.” Nate had great respect for all members of law enforcement, but the ones he could hear trampling around inside the tree line were from a small town and didn’t have a fraction of the training he and Taylor had on how to look for and preserve evidence. They weren’t going to appreciate the FBI taking over, but whatever. It wasn’t his job to soothe their hurt feelings.
